09 March 2006

Sonic Youth will be giving the super-deluxe re-release edition treatment to their debut, the self-titled "Blue" album, the classic house noize of their alter-ego Ciccone Youth's excellent 'the Whitey Album' as well as Thurston Moore's bold solo slab from 1995 'Psychic Hearts' on March 14th. The records will be re-mastered and updated with rare and live unreleased tracks. Sadly the eponymous "Blue" album won't feature in reverse as the original cassette release had! Thurston's 'Psychic Hearts' will feature a bunch of new unheard tracks on side four of the vinyl re-issue replacing the coolest vinyl scrawl you've never seen by NY hipster Rita Ackerman (who also does the albums fine cover art). The band is currently wrapping a new record for release this year (the last they'll record at their Echo Canyon/Murray Street Studio as the building has been sold). They'll also appear at Bonnaroo on June 18th.

Song list for the re-issue of 'Sonic Youth' is:

The Remastered Original Record:

1. Burning Spear2. I Dreamed I Dream3. She Is Not Alone4. I Don't Want To Push It5. The Good and the Bad

Early Live (September 18, 1981):

6. Hard Work7. Where The Red Fern Grows8. Burning Spear9. Cosmopolitan Girl10. Loud and Soft11. Destroyer12. She Is Not Alone

Low-Fi hook meister Tom Vek will bring his wares to the oh-so "last year, or was it the year before) fashionable Fox serial 'the OC' for tonight's episode. Vek's garage rock, analog buzz is infectious at the very least and worth checking out as he's sure to be a "big" thang (who can deny the power of the OC?) sooner than later. He'll be rocking his hit "I Ain't Saying my Goodbyes" tonight. You can check that vidvid and more over here.

08 March 2006

The seminal 4AD outfit Cocteau Twins were always a band that had few peers. The guitar wizardry of Robin Guthrie played like some New Age Kevin Shields. And Elizabeth Frasier simply created a new language instead of settling with the old ways. It was all quite lovely, a little trippy and completely their own. The band has a slew of rare and unreleased tracks available for download on the media page of their site. Included are demo tracks of "In Our Angelhood", "Pearly-Dewdrops Drop" and "Perhaps Some Other Aeon" (the b-side track to "Speak No Evil", the first Cocteau Twins single) as well as alternate versions of "Ivo" and "Pink Orange Red". There's also two tracks the Cocteaus recorded in the mid-90s for use in Frutopia commercials (yep, that's right Frutopia) one of which was later remixed by DJ Spooky for his 'Found Sound' release. Perhaps the strangest fare in the lot though is the John Peel administered version of the 1939 Lewis Allan classic made famous by Billy Holiday and Josephine Baker, "Strange Fruit".

You can download the whole Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers concert that NPR's Live Concert Series recently broadcast live from the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. There's also an interview with the rather reclusive leader of the band, Stuart Murdoch.

While yoo're at the NPR site, be sure to check out All Songs Considered which boasts an archive of live concerts from the Shins, the White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, Interpol and many many more.

Pearl Jam return with a new (free!) single "World Wide Suicide" and announce the first leg of tour in support of their self-titled, eigth studio album. The album was produced and mixed by Adam Kasper and Pearl Jam at Studio X in Seattle. The gigs kick-off in Toronto on My 9th and continue through June with stops in Hartford, Boston, DC, Phillie and more. All dates feature My Morning Jacket in support.

06 March 2006

The ever-wonderful Built to Spill is back in action after a five year hiatus since the release of 'Ancient Melodies of the Future' in 2001 (and the two plus years of touring that followed) with a new song "Goin' Against Your Mind" available on iTunes and a new record 'You in Reverse' dropping on April 11th. From the sound of this one track (and a second called "Traces" that leaked a few weeks back) the boys are back to 'Perfect from Now On' form taking their time to build riffs and melodies over 7 to 8 minute spans. There's word that they band even dabbles with a little reggae on one of the tracks. Here's the track listing:

Built to Spill : You In Reverse01. Goin' Against Your Mind02. Traces03. Liar04. Saturday05. Wherever You Go06. Conventional Wisdom07. Gone08. Mess With Time09. Just A Habit10. The Wait

They've also announced a slew of new tour dates, get tix while you can....